The Importance of Heat Shock-Related 70-kDa Protein 2 Expression in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Objective: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma has a high mortality rate, and approximately 60% of patients are in advanced stage at the time of diagnosis. Thus, determining the prognostic parameters of this cancer and markers related to these parameters are very important. There are studies showing that heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2, which is used as a biomarker, may be associated with prognostic parameter in some cancers. However, no study has investigated the prognostic role of heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the literature. Thus, in our study, the aim was to examine the relationship between heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 expression and clinicopathological prognostic parameters in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Materials and Methods: Our study included 104 patients diagnosed with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma between January 2005 and January 2016. The correlation between heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 expression and prognostic parameters was investigated by using the immunohistochemical method with heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 antibody.

Results: In all the cases, heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 positivity was determined in tumoral areas (100%). The overexpression rate of heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 in adjacent non-cancerous tissues with dysplasia was 48/104 (42%) (P < .0001). A significant relationship was found between heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 expression and important prognostic parameters such as macroscopic tumor size, lymphovascular invasion, primary tumor, lymph node metastasis, distant organ metastasis, tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stage stage, recurrence, and survival rates (P < .05).

Conclusion: Our study supports the presence of an association between high heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 expression levels and prognostic parameters in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. We consider that heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 can be used as a prognostic marker in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. In addition, it may be important in early diagnosis due to its increased expression even under laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma precursor conditions.

Comparing the effects of current circumcision techniques on dorsal root ganglia: an experimental study

Background

Circumcision is a surgical removal process of the preputium. Surgical excision and electric current cause neurodegeneration in the excised tissue-related neural network. This study investigates if circumcision and current surgical methods would cause histopathological changes in the penile tissue innervating pudendal nerve dorsal root ganglia.

Results

Vascular congestion occluded the microvessels, and degenerative changes were detected in postexcised penile tissue. Neuronal angulation, cytoplasmic condensation, nuclear shrinkage, and condensed nuclei were observed in the pudendal nerve ganglia. Moreover, the degenerated neuron (DN) densities of the pudendal nerve ganglia were 5 ± 2, 98 ± 22, 1093 ± 185, 236 ± 43 and 151 ± 19 in the control, the surgical circumcision, the monopolar cautery, the bipolar cautery and the thermocautery groups, respectively.

Conclusions

Although only the pudendal nerve endings are affected secondary to prepusium excision another pudendal axons can be damaged during bleeding control with cautery, the destruction of the neuron that sends this axon initiates a general inflammation in that ganglion. As a result, there may be a somatosensitive innervation defect in extrapenile tissues innervated by this ganglion. High-voltage electric devices should not be used unless obligatory.

Effect of adenosine triphosphate, benidipine and their combinations on bevacizumab-induced kidney damage in rats

BACKGROUND

Bevacizumab-induced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibition may lead to a decrease in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, an increase in intracellular Na+ and Ca2+ concentrations and an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, as well as to cell damage.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the biochemical and histopathological effects of ATP, benidipine and ATP in combination with benidipine on bevacizumab-induced kidney damage in rats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Rats were divided into 5 treatment groups: bevacizumab (BVZ) alone, ATP + bevacizumab (ABVZ), benidipine + bevacizumab (BBVZ), ATP + benidipine + bevacizumab (ABBVZ), and healthy controls (HC). Adenosine triphosphate (25 mg/kg), benidipine (4 mg/kg orally), ATP (25 mg/kg) + benidipine (4 mg/kg), or saline were administered to albino Wistar rats. One hour after treatment, bevacizumab was injected at a dose of 10 mg/kg to induce kidney damage. Two doses of bevacizumab were delivered 15 days apart. Adenosine triphosphate + benidipine were administered once a day for 1 month.

RESULTS

Malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels of the BVZ, BBVZ, ABVZ, ABBVZ, and HC groups were ranked from highest to lowest. Conversely, total glutathione (tGSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS) kidney tissue values were ranked from lowest to highest, respectively. Hemorrhage, tubular necrosis and grade 3 focal tubular atrophy were observed in the BVZ group. Atrophy and grade 2 necrosis were observed in the BBVZ group and atrophy and grade 1 necrosis were observed in the ABVZ group. Only grade 1 atrophy was observed in the ABBVZ group.

CONCLUSIONS

Adenosine triphosphate reduced bevacizumab-induced renal toxicity significantly more effectively than benidipine. However, the combination of ATP + benidipine further reduced bevacizumab-induced renal toxicity relative to benidipine or ATP alone. These data indicate that ATP + benidipine might be a potential therapeutic strategy for the prevention of bevacizumab-induced renal toxicity.

An antihypertensive agent benidipine is an effective neuroprotective and antiepileptic agent: an experimental rat study

BACKGROUND

Benidipine is an L, N and T type calcium channel blocker drug that is widely used as an antihypertensive drug.

OBJECTIVE

For the first time in the literature, it was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of benidipine in controlling epileptic seizure and preventing the development of neurodegeneration in epilepsy.

METHODS

An experimentally epilepsy model was produced with pentylenetetrazole, and rats were divided into seven groups, in different benidipine treatment doses or with valproic acid combinations. The epileptic activities of all rats were recorded according to the Fisher&Kittner classification. Biochemical parameters, histopathological Caspase-3 activity, Wyler hippocampal sclerosis, gliosis and neuronal degenerations were investigated.

RESULTS

It was found that in the post-hoc analysis of epileptic activities, there was a similar antiepileptic scores among the treatment groups. IL-1 level was found to be significantly lower in the benidipine 4 mg/kg group, and TNF-alpha was lower in the group given valproic acid+benidipine 2 mg/kg (p<0.05). The other biochemical parameters were not found to be significant. Neural degeneration levels in the brain tissues were statistically significant (p<0.001). Compared with the healthy group, the most neural degeneration was in the control group, the least neural degeneration was in the valproic acid+benidipine 4 mg/kg group.

CONCLUSIONS

For the first time in the literature, benidipine, alone or combined with valproic acid, were found to have a statistically significant antiepileptic efficacy, and provided neuroprotection when combined with valproic acid. Benidipine will be a promising agent in the treatment of epilepsy with its antiepileptic and neuroprotective effects.

Protective effect of taxifolin against prooxidant and proinflammatory kidney damage associated with acrylamide in rats

The current study investigates the biochemical and histopathological effects of taxifolin on acrylamide-induced kidney damage. A 50 mg/kg dose of taxifolin was administered via oral gavage to the taxifolin + acrylamide (TACR) group (n-6) consisting of male albino Wistar rats. The same volume of distilled water used as solvent was orally administered to the acrylamide (ACR) (n-6) and healthy (HG) (n-6) groups. One hour after the administration of taxifolin and distilled water, a 20 mg/kg dose of acrylamide was orally administered to the TACR and ACR groups. This procedure was repeated once a day for 30 days. In the acrylamide group, malondialdehyde (MDA), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) levels were found to be high, total glutathione (tGSH) levels were found to be low, and there was severe interstitial haemorrhage; additionally, tubular necrosis, tubular atrophy, leucocyte infiltration, and glomerular structures with expanded Bowman's space were observed. In the taxifolin group, where the increase of MDA, IL-1β, and TNF-α and the decrease of tGSH associated with acrylamide have been prevented, any histopathological finding other than mild necrosis and atrophic tubules was not found. This suggests that Taxifolin would prevent kidney tissue from acrylamide-induced damage would be effective in treating acrylamide-induced nephrotoxicity, inhibiting the increase of MDA, IL-1β and TNF-α, and decreasing tGSH associated with acrylamide.

First emerging evidence of the relationship between Onuf's nucleus degeneration and reduced sperm number following spinal subarachnoid haemorrhage: Experimental study

Lumbosacral pathologies can lead to infertility. Onuf's nucleus changes in these pathologies may have a role in low sperm number. This study aims to investigate the relationship between Onuf's nucleus degeneration and sperm number following spinal subarachnoid haemorrhage. 22 rabbits were used. They were divided into three groups; five of them were used as the control (GI), five as the SHAM (GII) and twelve as the study groups (GIII). The study group received 0.7 ccs autologous blood into the spinal subarachnoid space at the T12-L1 level. After two weeks, all animals were decapitated, and S1-S3 laminectomy was done. Neurodegenerative changes of Onuf's nucleus, pudendal ganglia (S3) following two weeks after spinal SAH, were examined; sperm numbers were calculated. Degenerated neuron density of the Onuf's nucleus (n/mm³ ), the pudendal ganglia (S3) (n/mm³ ) and mean sperm numbers were calculated as 5 ± 2, 8 ± 3/mm³ and 98.345 ± 12.776/mm³ in the control (GI), 20 ± 5/mm³ , 243 ± 66/mm³ and 91.841 ± 9.654/mm³ in the SHAM (GII), 143 ± 39/mm³ , 2,350 ± 320/mm³ and 68.549 ± 5.540/mm³ in the study group (GIII). In conclusion, there were statistically significant differences between groups. Onuf's nucleus may be responsible for decreased sperm number following spinal SAH.

Stellate ganglion ischemia on the prevention of pulmonary vasospasm during bilateral carotid artery ligation: The first experimental study

Fatal pulmonary edema and hemorrhage are significant complications of endovascular treatment in steno-occlusive carotid artery disease; a rational mechanism has not been adequately examined in the literature so far. We investigated if cervical sympathetic ganglia ischemia prevents pulmonary vasospasm on the prognosis of bilateral common carotid artery ligation (BCCAL). Twenty-three adult New Zealand rabbits (4.2 ± 0.3 kg) were randomly divided into three groups: the control group (G1, n = 5), the sham group (G2, n = 6), and the BCCAL group (G3, n = 12). Common carotid arteries were dissected bilaterally in G2/G3, and permanent BCCAL was applied to only in G3. All animals were followed for 3 weeks and decapitated under general anesthesia. Histopathological changes in stellate ganglia and severity of pulmonary vasospasm-related lung edema and hemorrhage were investigated. Results were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. Two animals of G3 dead within three weeks and the remainder were sacrificed three weeks later. Subpleural petechial foci and an endotracheal bloody fluid collection were grossly observed in the lungs. Histopathologically, pulmonary artery vasospasm, perivascular and subintimal edema, interalveolar hemorrhage, and alveolar wall destructions were observed with less ischemic-degenerated neuron density-determined stellate ganglia animals. Neurodegeneration of stellate ganglia may have a beneficial effect on the prevention of lung injury during steno-occlusive carotid artery disease.

Comparison of conventional cytology and SurePath in split thyroid fine needle aspiration materials

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to compare the cytomorphological features and cytopathological diagnoses in thyroid aspiration materials prepared by SurePath® (SP) and conventional cytology (CC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) materials from 180 thyroid nodules were divided into two groups to prepare three conventional smears and one SP slide. Twenty-nine cytomorphological features of thyroid lesions were compared in the CC and SP slides. The Kappa coefficiency was determined for each. The cytopathological diagnosis of CC and SP were compared.

RESULTS

The feature with the lowest Kappa coefficient was the haemorrhagic background, whereas nuclear molding had the highest Kappa coefficient. The rates of the atypical and suspicious cytopathological diagnostic categories were decreased, whereas the rates of benign and malignant categories were increased in SP. When the cytopathological diagnoses of CC and SP were compared with the histopathological diagnoses of the 31 thyroidectomy materials, the results were similar.

CONCLUSION

The common problems seen in CC, such as an excessive number of slides, a haemorrhagic background and air drying artefact in the SP method were not encountered. Through these advantages, the rate of the indeterminate cytopathological diagnosis was low in SP. In addition to those advantages, the increased rates of non-diagnostic cases, the difficulty in evaluating the cytomorphologic features owing to tridimensional structures and the smaller size of the cells and the presence of tridimensional structures uninterpreted microscopically were the disadvantages of SP. The present results showed that SP could be used instead of CC in thyroid cytopathology.

Chitosan gel formulations containing egg yolk oil and epidermal growth factor for dermal burn treatment

In the present study chitosan based gel formulations containing Egg Yolk Oil (EYO) and Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) were formulated successfully aiming at enhanced topical treatment of dermal burns the combination of traditional approaches with modern drug delivery systems. Physicochemical properties of the formulations were analyzed and efficacy of the formulations prepared were evaluated versus a commercial product; Silverdin (1% silver sulfadiazine) in vivo on Wistar rats. Burns were generated on the back of the rats and at predetermined time intervals tissue samples were collected and evaluated histologically. The analyses showed that chitosan based gel formulations containing Egg Yolk Oil (E1) and chitosan based gel formulations containing EYO and EGF (M1) formulations seem to be better alternatives for Silverdin with a significant difference (p < 0.05) considering healing ranks of tissue samples.

The effects of timing of aneurysm surgery on vasospasm and mortality in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of early and late surgery on postoperative vasospasm and mortality in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

METHODS

The data of patients with SAH who underwent aneurysmal clipping at the Kartal Training and Research Hospital between 1999 and 2005 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients who underwent early (0-3 days) and late surgery (> or = 4 days) were evaluated as two groups. Patient outcomes were assessed 1 month after surgery.

RESULTS

Of 159 patients (mean age, 49 years; 71 males) with SAHs, 135 (mean age, 51 years; 55 males) underwent early surgery and 24 patients (mean age, 56 years; 16 males) underwent late surgery. The overall postoperative vasospasm rate was 10.7%. The rate of postoperative vasospasm was significantly higher in the late surgery group (41.7%) compared to the early surgery group (5.2%; p < 0.001). There were 15 post-operative deaths (9.4%). The mortality rate in the late surgery group (25.0%) was significantly higher than the early surgery group (6.7%; p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study has demonstrated that early surgery is advantageous over late surgery in patients with SAH with lower post-operative vasospasm and mortality rates.

[Evaluation of cystic and alveolar echinococcosis cases in people in Erzurum and surrounding cities.]

The aim of this study was to evaluate retrospectively cases of cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) cases admitted to the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University These cases had come from Erzurum and surrounding cities. A total of 133 tissue samples from the cases submitted to the Department of Pathology from the Department of Surgery between 1 January 1999 and 15 July 2004 had been diagnosed as CE/AE. Of these cases, 111 (83.5%) were CE and 22 (16.5%), AE. The annual distribution of cases was as follows: 16, 13, 15, 46, 25 and 18 cases in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. Fifty seven (51.4%) cases of CE were male and 54 (48.6%), female while 9 (40.9%) AE cases were male and 13 (59.1%), female, making a total of 66 (49.6%) male cases and 67 (50.4%), female. The mean age of female cases with CE was 33 (5-76) and that of male patients was 32.3 (2-66) while the mean age of female cases with AE was 43.4 (18-59) and that of male cases with AE, 37.3 (18-52). The mean age of cases with both AE and CE was 35 (5-76) for females and 33 (2-66) for males. CE was located mainly in the liver (72.1%) and the lung (9.0%). AE was located in liver in 19 (86.4%) cases. Lesions were located in both the liver and kidney in one case, in the spleen, omentum, uterus, ovary and abdomen in one case and in the lung, pleura and brain in another case. The regional distribution of cases in cities was as follows: 58% from Erzurum, 13.4% from Ağri, 7.6% from Kars, 5.9% from Iğdir and 3.4% from Erzincan.

Malignant localized fibrous tumor of the pleura occurring in a person environmentally exposed to tremolite asbestos

A case is presented of a malignant localized pleural fibroma occurring in a 60-year-old Turkish female who was environmentally exposed to tremolite. The tumor was excised but recurred 3 years later when it was again excised. It is possible that more radical surgery at initial presentation with chest wall resection would have been advantageous.